The laundry process is a critical function in the overall operation of a hotel or inn in regards to the daily preparation of the customer rooms. It is important to the hotel to outfit each room with a consistently clean set of bed linens and towels that show no sign of stain or discoloration. A set of bed linens and towels that are not damaged beyond use can see from 150-250 laundry cycles. The laundry process involves an agitated wash bath including water, detergent, stain removers and softeners and is completed with a drying process.
Bed linens for the hospitality market may be constructed of 100% cotton or various cotton/polyester blends. Laundry instructions are provided for these products by manufacturers, which include maximum heat processing temperatures. Cotton, polyester, and blends thereof have limitations in regards to exposure to heat. Excessive exposure to heat beyond the recommended levels can breakdown the fibers resulting in loss of strength and pliability, excessive shrinkage, scorching, and other damage to the fabrics whether visible or not.
The drying process can vary from hotel to hotel depending on whether the hotel has an “on-site” laundry which they operate, or if the laundry is outsourced to a commercial third party. On-site properties primarily employ a heated, tumble dry system of drying where the bed linens and towels are removed from the dryer with a small percentage of moisture still in the fabric to reduce the risk of overheating and also to assist in minimizing wrinkling of the fabric. A commercial laundry may also employ heated tumble dryers but may also employ an additional process of running the sheets and pillowcases through a series of heated rollers to finish the drying process along with pressed, reduced wrinkle appearance. In an attempt to improve productivity, the heated rollers may be operated at a temperature that exceeds the recommended processing temperature for the fabrics. Exposure to excessive heat damages the fabric product so that it must be taken out of service and replaced with new product.
Many hotels file claims against the product manufacturer for defective product due to the breakdown of fibers that result in loss of strength and pliability, excessive shrinkage, scorching, and other damage. While the actual defect is likely to be caused by the excessive and/or improper exposure to heat during the drying process, the product manufacturer has difficulty establishing this fact due to the absence of a verifiable heat processing history. Returns and replacement product can create significant cost for the manufacturer and results in wasted product.
The ability to determine if linens have been exposed to a temperature above the recommended level during the laundry process would give both manufacturers and hotels that purchase bed linens the opportunity to dispute false defective claims and establish proof of temperature abuse of the product. Incorporation of a temperature sensitive indicator during the manufacturing of the bed linens would create a record of any occurrence of excessive heat exposure. The key to this indicator would be that it changes color and remains in the newly changed color after cooling.
It would be advantageous to provide a fabric product having an indicator incorporated into the product that will visually report whether the product has been subjected to a temperature exceeding a maximum processing temperature. It would be advantageous to provide an indicator that changes color upon exceeding a threshold temperature, and does not further change color or revert to its original color upon falling below the threshold temperature. It would be advantageous for the indicator to be permanently incorporated into the fabric product itself or semi-permanently into the product as a tag.